Marlboro backs armed police response to Connecticut school shootings

Marlboro officials and residents generally approved of the move to put additional armed police officers in each of the township's schools, saying they felt it was time for safety first in the aftermath of the Connecticut school shootings. Noah K. Murray/The Star-Ledger

MARLBORO – Like it or not, America has been forced to confront the societal changes that led to the fatal shooting of 20 children and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut last month. On the first school day of this month, Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik explained why officials in Marlboro, the first town in New Jersey to authorize an extra armed presence in its schools after the Newtown shootings, deployed one additional police officer in each of its nine schools as of Jan. 2. In Hornik’s view, if Marlboro is the face of the new American educational reality, so be it.

“What happened in Connecticut, as tragic as it was, taught us all that existing security protocols do not work,” said Hornik, who noted that there has been a long-time, rotating presence of armed school resource officers in Marlboro schools. “Our primary responsibility is security for the kids.”

“The officers will be at the schools until we get a report out of Newtown and we can reevaluate our security procedures to make sure our 8,000 students are safe,” Hornik added, noting that the police officers will bolster the security previously provided by retired police officers and parent volunteers, who use computer software to scan visitors’ driver’s licenses.

Marlboro’s Board of Education made the decision to put the extra officers in the schools for at least 90 days. The armed and uniformed officers will be positioned at the entrance to the township’s middle and elementary schools. The decision, made in conjunction with the Marlboro Police Department and the township’s council, was approved at a Dec. 18 board meeting, three days before the National Rifle Association issued a controversial call for armed guards to be placed in schools nationwide in response to the Connecticut school shootings. The program will cost the school district approximately $100,000 in overtime pay for the police officers who patrol the schools, according to township officials.

The idea of armed guards in the schools has drawn criticism from both local and national politicians on both sides of the aisle.

Michael Nutter, the Democratic mayor of Philadelphia, went even further in his condemnation of the concept, calling the NRA’s armed guard proposal “a completely dumbass idea.”

But both officials and residents of Marlboro generally approved of the move, saying they felt it was time for safety first in the aftermath of the Newtown shootings, no matter what price is paid.

“Our children have seen these officers around the community, and they have known them for years,” said Schools Superintendent Dr. David Abbott. “I’ve worked in many high-achieving, suburban school districts, and while I’ve seen some bad things, I’ve never seen anything like what we’re dealing with now. These kind of mass shootings tend to be in relatively wealthy, suburban schools, and this kind of district could well be a target. I never foresaw this, but we have to make sure our students and staff stay as safe as possible, and still not be distracted from learning.”

“Things like this just don’t happen in a vacuum,” said Capt. Brian Hall of the Marlboro Township Police Department. “There are indicators for these type of incidents, and certainly with trained police officers in our schools, there is a much greater chance for protection. Our officers are trained observers, and they are trained to handle any situation."

In the shopping strip malls adjoining the intersection of Newman Springs Road and Route 79 in Marlboro, locals reflected on the seriousness of the situation when assessing the effectiveness of the new policy.

“It’s definitely a proactive idea, and clearly it’s a safety thing,” Sarah Solomon, 20, of Marlboro, a Rutgers University student who is a product of Marlboro’s schools. “The concern is the financial aspect. But the residents have to weigh what’s more important: the money in their pockets, or their kids coming home O.K. every day from school.”

“It’s good to have more officers here,” said Dennis Pease, 15, of Marlboro, sitting at a booth at Kathy’s Kafe after school on Wednesday. “With more cops, they’ll know more about what's going on with the kids, and they could jump right on it if there is any violence.”

“It’s a good move – a lot of kids died,” said Matt Geller, 15, of Marlboro, outside of the Wawa convenience store. “I’d rather have more cops than have somebody else do the same thing to us.”

“If my child were still in school, I’d want my child to be safe,” said Bonnie Ivler, 59, of Marlboro, as she got her nails done at Polished to Perfection. “Unfortunately, I hope they put more police in the schools all the time because of what the world is becoming. You can’t stop everything, but it will make people think twice. At least there will be somebody there that could do something. It’s scary to have armed people in schools, but it’s scarier not to be protected.”

“I think the mayor is trying to do what’s right, but I’m not really sure that I want, when my grandsons go to school, the first thing that they see in the morning is a police officer with a gun,” said Judy Lidsky, 63, of Marlboro. “It takes away a part of their innocence. I wish there was a way for the police to blend in better.”

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Still, Mayor Hornik indicated that he feels his town has taken the steps needed to ensure Marlboro won’t see the innocence of its children, and their lives, taken away.

“This is the only immediate step we could take,” Hornik, a Democrat, said. “For all of the critics out there who want to debate gun control laws, I’m not getting involved with that. My job is to protect our students, and that’s the only analysis that went into this decision. I don’t believe that taking no action is acceptable. I don’t believe that you can sit there and hope it doesn’t happen in your schools.”